Hey - April 16th

Hey family,
Well, it was a bit of a surprise to hear about Jonathan. I hope he is feeling a bit better by now.
I was also interested to hear that Delta decided to merge after all. How does all that effect the way that dad has to work? I guess that he is still leaving from salt lake which has to be easier. Well you will have to tell me how all that goes.
Tell grandpa I love him. I can imagine how he feels with all that he has to do. It is not easy knowing that if you don’t do something no one else will either. That seems to happen a lot here in the mission.
This last week we have been busy doing a lot of divisions all over our zone so we also did a lot of traveling. It was good and it gave me a chance to get to know some elders better and help them out and also learn some things myself. Sometimes being in a companionship with Elder Peterson can be a bit overwhelming since we both know what we are doing as missionaries and have our way of doing it. He tends to be a bit more outgoing than I am so I sometimes feel pushed back a bit, which I suppose is fine with me. I never have liked to be put in front of everyone anyways. I love Elder Peterson and I have to say that he is one of my best companions, but sometimes we kind of choke each other a bit. Just one of the struggles of being with someone 24/7 I suppose.
Today we just went to las cataratas again, but it was drizzling on us a bit. We got soaked at the Garganta del Diablo. It has been raining quite a bit since Saturday and with it came the cold. Today was a lot of fun though. We went and saw some places we didn’t visit the last time and I got some more pictures. They may not be that great due to the gloomy weather, but they are still pretty good. By the way the picture I sent was taken on another camera because my camera can not do panoramic. A lot of cameras these days can copy pictures onto other memory cards and I take advantage of that every once in awhile.
I feel fairly rested up to go out and work now due to the nap I took on the trip back from Iguazú. I didn’t realize how tired I was. Tonight and tomorrow morning we are going to go out and work with the assistants, Elder Araya and Elder Vega, so I hope to get back to teaching a lot of our investigators. We have a lot of investigators already that want to get baptized, but they need to change some things in their lives first. The Gassmann family will probably take a year or so so we are trying to help them get started on divorces and word of wisdom problems and whatnot. I just hope they keep the excitement they need to press forward.
We have also started teaching a man, hon. Nuñez. He is a member of the church since 2 years back. He went to church for a year and then got sick and couldn’t come for a long while. We found him and he came to general conference and intends to make a return to the church with his 5 sons, 3 of which need to be baptized. They love the Book of Mormon and know a lot of the church already. They are a great family. The wife just packed up and left them though I don’t know how long ago.
The weather has been really cool lately which feels great. The rain has made it a bit rough, but not too bad. We still have lessons. I am about out of clean clothes right about now which is a bit of a problem, but I suppose I will get by okay. Luckily you all sent some nice new socks to enjoy. Those things are so padded! And with the shoes I think my feet will be saved a lot of pain. Also thanks for the huge bags of candy and peanut butter, etc. We have been enjoying all of that, I never knew how good a peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be.
Well, what else can I say? Things are going pretty well right now. I don’t have a lot of complaints. Really I know that my serving a mission is a great blessing for a lot of people, perhaps the greatest blessing for myself when all is said and done, but I see the blessing that my family is receiving as well, even though someone decides to break something or just wants to go to the hospital every other week. I don’t understand why you all feel the need to take turns with all that sick and injured business. But like I was saying, the blessings are not always physical, but I think we are receiving more of that then we may notice. I know that this is the Lord’s work I am doing and I find it a privilege to be in His service. I know the gospel is true and truly brings the happiness people are seeking. If I can only help people to realize this and help them turn to the Lord for help in their lives, I will be grateful. I know Christ is our savior and that through him true repentance and forgiveness are possible. It is the Atonement that brings true healing to the suffering soul. As we turn to the savior we will find peace.
Love you all and hope you have a great week.
Elder Aaron McDonald